A day of birthdays

Liam Sterling Ricks
born April 23 2011
6 pounds 9 ounces
18.5 inches

Happy Birthday Grandma Gropp

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Pregnancy/Induction

ITS OFFICIAL!! LIKE IT OR NOT LITTLE BOY RICKS WILL BE HERE APRIL 25TH!!! I was so excited to schedule my induction this week! I wish it was the 18th (that way I get more of Sterling at home with paid leave) but I have a feeling this little guy will be here before the 25th. WARNING: THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION MIGHT BE TMI FOR SOME PEOPLE-YOU WERE WARNED! I was checked and am measuring in at 3 centimeters and 40% effacted. My next appointment is Thursday, every week now, and I am hoping that I will have made even more progress. I seriously think this little guy will be here around the 18-23 but that's just my opinion.
Enjoy the pictures because I seriously hesitate posting them, I dislike looking at the double/triple chins (among other things)....definitely not the buck twenty little perky girl I was seeing the in mirror two years ago. Its scary how big I have gotten with this pregnancy. Sadly I hit my ending weight with Lucy at my last check up! (Mind you I put on 55 pounds with her) But I was told boys are typically bigger then girls. I told Sterling if little boy Ricks pops out at a whopping 10 pounds I would jump for joy. On the other hand if he is as small as Lucy (6 pounds 13 ounces) the first words out of his mouth better be, honey don't worry I just ordered you a treadmill!
I'm getting more and more excited to see what this little one looks like. I think he will be a sleeper (hooray!) Lucy had a schedule before she was even born, she was up when I was and would wake up just before Sterling got home from work, a little miniature adult. This guy..well there have been times where I have layed in bed crying because I am so tired and all he wants to do is play with my ribs or do somersaults and then sleeps all day. I still have so much to prepare. With all the construction going on its been seriously hard to keep my house as clean as I would like it. But its been so wonderful to have things completed. I am hoping the last of the current construction will be done Tuesday and then I can super clean my house AGAIN. I wish I had money to hire someone to clean my floors its such a chore being this big. Thankfully Sterling does most of the scrubbing. I will be posting pictures of our new fireplace and windows/frames. Outside of the house being in construction I feel like I have everything I need. I just need to pack my hospital bag, which I can finally do tomorrow (I got all the laundry done, FINALLY).

My therapy spout

Whats the difference between standing up for yourself and pride? A very interesting question when you think about it. It can be hard to know when to shut-up or speak up. The situation in question takes place at work.

(A very condensed synopsis)
Owner/only license agent beside myself- suffers from serious lack of management skills. Secretary of 5 years, prints off her emails to read them (serious lack of tech skills)among other things. Client, good friends of secretary, lacks the responsibility of paying her insurance and likes to hit people with car in parking lots. Clients policies non-renew (notice from insurance company given 3 months ago). Owner gives secretary responsibly to find a new company before final cancellation. 2 months later insured wants to know where insurance is going, secretary fails to complete any quotes. Owner passes responsibility to me. Quotes completed and ready for signature with in 2 days. Client fails to show, 3 weeks later client shows up to complete applications same time and day I start interviews for a new secretary. Current secretary makes client wait for me to help her when all that is needed are signatures from insured, a simple click of the mouse and print job(not rock science and license not required. Client whom I have never met face to face, never spoken more than 3 words is giving me the look of death. I enthusiastically ask client question in regards to billing options when client walks out of office. Owner calls client. Client proceeds to tell owner that I should be fired and have my license pulled. Owner apologizes for any miscommunication and asks for client to schedule time for owner to personally complete policies. Client shows up next day and explains rather prophetically my lack of professionalism, manners and respect. I look at owner for explanation for clients rant. Owner is looking at me. I say nothing to client or Owner- next interviewer shows up. I leave work. Next day office meeting owner tells me client expect that I call her with apology. Secretary seconds that request, I laugh.

Ok, so its short there are alot of stupid (rather irritating) details left out but you get what happened. Its like a lemon in my mouth that I just cant seem to wash out. Seriously! An apology for what? Doing the job the secretary couldn't get done in 2 months - being the "bigger person" and letting the client "put me in my place". If this client thinks for one second that I'm going to call her and apologize she is mistaken. I would like to know what she thinks I need to apologize for. Unless asking someone how they will be paying their bill is offensive I don't know where this lady is coming from. Maybe, just maybe it could be all the crap her good friend/Secretary is feeding her....
I had a really hard time Wednesday letting the insured tell me off, I knew this lady was mad at me, for what, I couldn't tell you. The owner told me to just let is "side off your back"- "old people like to be sucked up to". He assured me that I said nothing wrong to client and that "I of anyone in the office was most capable of getting the job done". But then he sits there and lets the client talk to me the way she did, doesn't let the client know that good friend/Secretary had 2 months to do the job but couldn't AND then explains to me that the client wants an apology. When I laugh at such a request he says "the client is always right". I have a few choice words for you my boss and they are in no way Christ like! How did I become the cow in the slaughter house? Can my boss be any more unprofessional? How much more can my co-worker/secretary talk crap about me and get away with it? She has known since mid January that her job will end once I am back from maternity leave. I don't think she believed the owner/boss until I started calling people in to interview for her job. Now all of the sudden she is realizing that shortly she will be unemployed. The owner told me that in talking with secretary, secretary asked if he was really going to let her go! Doesn't that speak for its self...like I said the owner seriously lacks the management skills needed to run a professional business.

Every time I start to think about what happened I pray the Lord will help me let go of my harbored anger and move on. I prayed for forgiveness, I want to be the bigger person, more Christ like. But the whole thing keeps dragging out and I feel like I'm getting walked over. I realize its all about the dollar to him and him letting the client express herself can be my pride letting me stew over what happened. But at what point do you stand up for yourself and what do you say that wont get you fired.